Adam Schefter has predicted that Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua will not be suspended and will be able to play the entire 2026 season.
The Los Angeles Rams are now just a few days away from their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, and despite some uncertainty earlier in the offseason, it now appears that wide receiver Puka Nacua and offensive tackle Alaric Jackson are expected to play in Week 1.
Focusing on Nacua, there is still no clear indication as to whether or not he will be suspended at all this season. However, NFL insider Adam Schefter recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and made a strong prediction about Nacua's overall status for the season.
"I think there's a real possibility that Puka's going to go through this season unscathed and not face any discipline for his part in that off-the-field incident," Schefter said.
With Schefter's prediction, it is pretty clear that he does think Nacua is in a good position to not be suspended at all during the 2026 season.
Later on, Schefter did talk about the fact that several other players, like Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs and Denver Broncos edge rusher Jonathan Cooper, were placed on the Commissioner's Exempt list while Nacua and Jackson were not.
As a result of that news, Schefter added, "It looks like those guys right now are in the clear for the time being."
So, when considering what Schefter talked about, it does seem like if the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell were going to take action against Nacua, it would have happened already. The same goes for Jackson, as Schefter alluded to.
With Nacua and Jackson not being on the Commissioner's exempt list, it appears that they should be able to play the full season, but the NFL could still take action at some point, so that will definitely be worth monitoring.
Shifting focus to the Week 1 matchup with the 49ers, having Nacua and Jackson will be huge.
Starting with Nacua, he is a major part of this offense and is Matthew Stafford's top target, so if he were out for this game, that would be less than ideal against a 49ers team that knows the Rams extremely well. Additionally, the question of who Los Angeles still has at WR3 is another reason why Nacua being in the lineup is important.
On the other hand, with Jackson expected to play in this game, Stafford now has his starting left tackle to protect his blindside. In this matchup against the 49ers, specifically edge rushers Nick Bosa and Osa Odighizuwa, who have the ability to cause disruption.
With Jackson in the lineup, the Rams should be in a solid spot as they also have Warren McClendon Jr. on the right side.
So, heading into Week 1, having Nacua and Jackson will be important, but also having them for most, if not all, of the regular season will be just as important as the Rams aim to make a deep postseason run once again.
